"set" tobacco from three to four weeks earlier than from the 

 brush-covered beds of years ago. In "making" the bed the 

 land is made as fine as possible with harrows and rollers, and 

 last with a hand rake. The seed is sown by some growers 

 at the rate of one teaspoonful to the square rod; others sow 

 one tablespoonful to the square rod. After being run through 

 a cleaning machine to blow out the dirt and light seeds the 

 clean seed is usually mixed with plaster, ashes or fertilizer so 

 as to get an even stand. After sowing, the bed is either raked 

 lightly, rolled with a hand roller or simply wet down with a 

 hose; then the cloth or glass is put on. Some sow the seed 

 dry, while others sprout it first. 



There are two varieties of tobacco raised in the valley, — 

 Havana seed and Seed Leaf or Broad Leaf. The former is by 

 far the most common in the Massachusetts part of the valley, 

 only a comparatively few raising the Broad Leaf. 



After the plants are up every known method is used to force 

 them. The bed may be sprinkled wit h manu re \vater, or with 

 water which has had ammonia added at the rate of^one tea- 

 spoonful to the gallon, or water with nitrate of soda dissolved 

 in it. Another method is to sow fertilizer before watering. 

 Dry ground fish is a good material for this purpose as it does 

 not injure the young plants and it is quickly available. Great 

 care should be taken of the bed, especially a glass bed. Often 

 a fine bed is ruined because the owner did not raise his sash on 

 a hot day; again, lack of air also causes "damping oft'," a 

 disease in which the plant decays just above ground. Steriliz- 

 ing the ground with live steam in the fall or spring is growing 

 in favor as this not only kills all fungous diseases, but the weed 

 seeds as well. A large square pan of galvanized iron, boards 

 or other material is inverted over the bed. This is pushed 

 down into the soil, after which live steam is turned under the 

 pan and held at a pressure of 80 pounds for half an hour, when 

 the pan is moved to a new place. An objection to the wood box 

 is that it becomes heavy after being soaked with steam. One 

 pan made of galvanized iron 6 by 12 feet cost a grower $22. 

 This grower claims that his beds were steamed at a cost of 

 about SI per square rod. He grows about 30 acres and 

 started to steam his beds in the fall, but was compelled to 

 give up the operation on account of freezing and finish in the 



